‘Militants’: FATA tribunal frees three suspects

The men were charged for links with Afghan-based militant outfit Zabiullah.

PESHAWAR:

Three men, who were sentenced for six months for alleged links with a militant outfit, were released by the Fata Tribunal on Friday.

Samiullah Afridi counsel for Taimur Ali, Hussain and Waheed Ali told The Express Tribune that his clients were arrested by security agencies back in 2009. Taimur, an IT degree holder from England was picked up from Azad Kashmir, while Hussain and Waheed, both of whom have master’s degree in science, were arrested from Rawalpindi.

All three were said to have been allegedly trained by Zabiullah group, an Afghan-based militant outfit.

The men were found innocent and handed to the political administration of Khyber Agency in 2012, Afridi said.  “But Assistant Political Agent Bara, after holding their trial, sent them behind bars for six months with a penalty of Rs30,000,” he said.

The verdict was then challenged at the office of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) commissioner, who later remitted the penalty but did not go back on the jail term.

Tribunal members Akbar Khan, Pir Fida and Chairman Shah Wali conducted the hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2012.